Refrigerator latch



April 30, 1957 A. VANDERVELD 2,790,665

I REFRIGERATOR LATCH Filed Aug. 15, 1956 v 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Af/omeyApril 30, 1957 A. VANDERVELD 2,790,665

REFRIGERATOR LATCH Filed Aug. 15, 1956 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 I I L"-:--/ l 4v liiyl/llllll n5 7/2 /nvenf0r Anfhony l/anoerve/o nited States PatentREFRIGERATOR LATCH Anthony Vanderveld, Grand Rapids, Mich.

Application August 15, 1956,'Serial No. 604,187

Claims. (Cl; 292-336) This invention relates to and is concerned with adoor latch which in practice has been used with refrigerator doors withespecial advantage, though not restricted to such use alone.

I have heretofore filed an application for patent on a refrigeratorlatch, having Serial No. 572,555, filed March 19, 1956. Thepresent-invention discloses improvements in the construction of therefrigerator latch which eliminates all Pivot pins and the cost andexpense attendant thereto and which, while shown in vertical position atthe front edge of a refrigerator casing, may be reversed in position andused on the door, and is also useable in either vertical position asdisclosed or in. horizontal position. Exceptional economy inmanufacture, particularly in the assembly of the latch is attained withincreased sturdiness of structure and durability in use.

With the latch of my invention the door may be pulled open upon exertinga predetermined outward force thereon, usually by grasping, a handlefixed onthe door and pulling outwardly. Also, as is evident, the sameforce pushing against the door at the inner side thereof will 2,790,665Patented. Apr. 30, 195.7

in the same direction at right angles, while at the inner edge of theback. 1 a like inner flange or side 4 is bent, the width ofthe parts 2,3 and 4 being equal. Additionally at the outer edge of the back 1 twoouter side sections 5 and 6, having the same width as the other sections2, 3, and 4 are turned at right angles, being separated at adjacent endsby an opening at 7 made by cutting away an intermediate portion of theouter side to leave the sections 5' and 6. The sections 5 and 6 at theirupper and lower ends, respectively, extend beyond the upper sides 2 and3 as shown in Fig. 6.

in the back 1 a circular opening 8 is pierced, located toward the upperend thereof. At the. juncture of the integral connection of the. upperside 2 with the back 1 a slot 9 is cut lengthwise of the part 2. In theinner side 4, upper and lower spaced slots 10 and 11 are cut lengthwiseof said side 4 and in the upper edge portion of the section 6. avertical slot 12 is made. The slots it 11 and 12 are located in the sameplane and the upper end of slot 12 is open having conjunction with theopening 7 previously described.

open it, thereby eliminating thedanger of entrapment which with respectto children has happened many times in connection with refrigeratorswhich refrigerators are equipped with openings closed by doors which areheld in positive and closed position against opening by pressure againstthe inside of the door.

An understanding of the invention showing the novelty, simplicity andeconomy of structure in the form in which my invention is preferablyembodied may be had from the following description, taken in connectionwith the accompanying drawings, in which,

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a refrigerator with the door closed andwhich is equipped with my invention, the latching structure beingdisguised and only the pulling handle on the door shown at the outside.

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary, much enlarged horizontal section on the planeof line 22 of Fig. 1 with the door closed.

Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the readily releasable latch showing itwith the parts thereof in the position occupied as the door is in theprocess of being closed and approaches closed position. I

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary vertical section substantially on the plane ofline 4-4 of Fig. 2 looking in the direction indicated, with the doorfully closed. 1

Fig. 5 is a transverse vertical section substantially on the plane ofthe broken line 5--5 ofFig. 3 looking in the direction indicated, and a[I Fig. 6 is a perspective view of the latch casing or housing used inmy invention.

Like reference characters refer to like parts in the different figuresof the drawings. c

The latch housing is made from a plate of flat metal to provide avertical side 1, which may be termed the back side, from the ends ofwhich an upper, flange or side 2 and a lower flange or side 3 are turnedand bent spring 27, one end of which nears against the side section-Such housing for the latch is inserted through an opening made at thevertical front 13 of the door casing outwardly-of the door opening whichis present in a refrigerator, as 14-, and against which the freevertical edge ofa refrigerator door is adapted to hear when the door is.closed. The upper and lower extensions of the sections 5 and 6' overlapsuch front side l3 and are secured I inner side 4 and from it lower endan integral, outwardly extending generally horizontal arm 18 whichpasses through the opening at i and slot 3.2 at the outer side of thehousing. It terminates in a keeper head 1% which, as shown in Figs. 3'and 4, has an upwardly and inwardly extending upper cam edge -26, at itsinner end joining with a downwardly and inwardly inclined edge 21. Theinclination of the edge 21 is at an acute angle to the vertical Whilethat oftho. edge 2% is an acute angle to the horizontal. The arm 18 backof the keeper head 19 has a short downward extension 22 which terminatesin a laterally turned arm 23-1 t ri ht angles to the plane of the latchlever, extending toward the vertical back or side 1 (Fig. 5).

The latch is assembled with the. housing by the insertion of two spacedapart projections 24 and 25 from the inneredge of the arnril'l. Theprojection 25 is substantially horizontally aligned with the horizontalarm 18 and passes through the lower slot ii. When thus assembled thelower part of the keeper head 19 is received and guided in the slot 12.The projection M25 at its juncture with the latch lever rides againstthe lower cnd of slot 11. 'Thc lever as thus mounted is adapted to turnor rock about the corner or point at Zo'where the lever engages thevertical side 4- at the lower end of slot ii at the inside cornerthereof. T he latch lever is normally moved in a counterclockwisedirection by a coile 5 and theother telescopes over a forwardlyextending projection 28 on the arm 17.

The spring 27 will have a preselected strength such that it will resistclockwise turning movement of the keeper head 19 until asuflicient forceis applied to overcome the spring resistance. The latch lever and springare very easily assembled by a mere insertion of the projections ,24 and2 5;throh'gh their respective slots with the spring 27 at its inner endover the projection 28 and with the keeper head 19 in slot 12. By reasonof the slots 10, 11 and 12 lying in the same plane, which plane isparallel to the vertical side or back 1, and with such slots onlysufficiently wider than the thickness of the metal plate from which thelatch lever is cut to permit free movement, the lever is held, guidedand maintained in such plane. q

A trigger for holding the latch lever in inoperative position is locatedwithin the housing. It is made from a plate of flat metal 29 which atits upper end portion lies against the adjacent back 1, and at its upperedge portion extends through the slot 9 and is provided with an integralsleeve bearing 30 struck therefrom and having an exterior diameter topass freely through the opening 8. The trigger is normally turned in acounterclockwise direction (Fig. 4), having a vertical tongue 31 strucklaterally therefrom back of its pivotal axis, over which a coiledcompression spring 32 is placed with the upper end bearing against thetop side 2 of the housing.

The lower portion of the trigger 29 is offset away from the back 1, asat 29a, and at its lower end portion parallels the plane of the latchlever 16, spaced a short distance therefrom. The lower end of thetrigger 29 is divided vertically substantially midway between its sideedges to provide a downwardly extending leg 33 which, at its lower end,has a lower corner removed to provide a downward projection 34 narrowerthan the leg 33 and a recess at 34a having a generally horizontal uppershoulder and a vertical shoulder at the outer edge of said projection34. The other leg 35, positioned outwardly from the leg 33 at its lowerend is turned as at 36 toward and preferably reaches to the backplate 1. The part 36 riding against the back plate 1 stabilizes andholds the trigger member 29 against undesired movement at its lowerportion.

The relative location of the member 23 with respect to the recess 34a issuch that when the latch lever is turned clockwise by the outwardmovement of the roller 39 bearing against the cam surface 21 it will belowered and assume a position near the inner side of the flange 3. Theoutward movement of the roller 39 which causes part 23 'to be depressednow allows the trigger 29 under the urge of spring 32 to movecounterclockwise and swing the notched out shoulder 34a of the arm 33with a slight clearance over the part 23 at which point it is held fromfurther movement by the projection 34.

When the roller 39 moves beyond the high point of the cam surface 21 andbegins to contact the cam surface 20 the upper side of the part 23 underthe urging of spring 27 will be lifted and come to rest firmly againstthe notched out shoulder in arm 33 and hold until the door is againclosed.

The keeper which is to cooperate with the latching mechanism is madefrom a plate of flat metal with a vertical back 37 and two spaced arms38 extending therefrom generally horizontally, between which a roller39, preferably of nylon material, is rotatably mounted to turn about ahorizontal axis. A mounting plate 40 permanently secured within the door41 of the refrigerator at its free vertical edge portion carries thekeeper by means of screw bolts similar to the bolts 15. The inner,

side of the free verticaledge portion of the door has an opening 42(Fig. 2) through which the arms 32 of the keeper extend. The usualsealing gasket 43 is carried at the inner side of the door at its edgesto press against the outer faces of the refrigerator casing (Fig. 2)around the refrigerator opening. The door is supplied with a handle 44fixed at any convenient location for operation which handle maybe pulledoutwardly upon.

In operation, on closingthe door and with the latch lever held andtrigger retained as in Fig. 3, spring 27 being compressed, the keeperarms 38 and roller 39 being located so that roller 39 will reach thekeeper head 19 only slightly before. passing over its highest point,when the roller does engage such keeper head 19 it depresses such head ashort distance moving the part 23 downwardly from the upper horizontalshoulder at the recess 35 whereupon as the roller passes over suchuppermost portion of the head 19 and strikes the trigger 29 the triggeris moved against the force of spring 32 in a clockwise direction to the.position shown in Fig. 4. This automatically releases the latch lever 16so that it swings to the position in Fig. 4, the inner edge 21 pressingupwardly on roller 39 and tending, through the force of the spring 27,to pull the door snugly to closed position and compress gasket 43.

The inclination of the inner edge 21 of the head 19 to the vertical issuch that an outward horizontal pull on handle 44 will supply adownwardly acting vertical component of such force against the outer endof the latch lever so that the latch lever will rock clockwise againstthe spring 27 when such pulling force reaches a predetermined amountsutficient to overcome spring 27. As the roller 29 approaches theuppermost point of the head 19, the trigger 29 automatically follows therollerv 39 as it is withdrawn, reaching and passing outwardly beyond theposition shown in Fig. 3. As the roller passes farther outward anddisengages from head 19 the automatic counterclockwise turning of thelatch lever brings the part 23 against the upper horizontal shoulder atrecess 35, holding the head 19 in a lower position.

The latch lever accordingly is held substantially in the position shownin Fig. 3 when the door is opened. It is triggered to released positionby roller 39 coming against the trigger 29 when the door is closed.However, should the trigger be inoperative at any time, or ineffective,or fail to hold the latch lever in the position shown in Fig. 3, andwith the latch lever positioned as in Fig. 4 with the door open, theautomatic latching of the door when it is swung shut follows from theroller 39 riding against the upper outer edge 20 of the keeper head 19and de pressing it until such roller reaches and is engaged by the inneredge of head 19 at 21.

The latch structure shown is one which is very readily manufactured andassembled. The casing has no parts which require depth drawing, theflanges or sides 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6, being merely bent at right anglesfrom the back 1. The assembly is easily accomplished by merely puttingthe latch lever in place in the casing, together with its spring, afterthe trigger member has been put in place by inserting its integralsleeve 30 through the openings in the back. No pivot pins are requiredwith riveting over of the ends thereof. The latch lever is held andretained against undesired movements, rocking in a plane of movementfrom which it does not deviate. The production of the latch lever andthe trigger member by simple punch press operation is evident. A markedimprovement in simplicity, economy and durable sturdy structure is made.

The invention is defined in the appended claims and is to be consideredcomprehensive of all forms of structure coming within their scope.

I claim:

1. Alatch comprising a casing, a latch lever within said casing, saidcasing at one side having spaced aligned slots lengthwise of said sidethereof, an opening in the opposite side of said casing, and a slot insaid opposite side, lengthwise thereof extending from an end of saidopening, said lever having an arm generally paralleling the firstmentioned side of said casing, said arm having projections thereonpassing'through the slots of said first mentioned side, and a second armconnected with and located generally at right angles tothe first armextending through said opening in the opposite side of the casing andthrough said slot therein, and spring means acting on the first arm toturn said lever to move the first arm toward said first side of thecasing.

2. Structure as defined in claim 1, the free end of said second arm ofsaid lever having a keeper retaining head with which a latch keeper isadapted to cooperate and be releasably held by said head.

3, A latch structure comprising, a casing having a back and sides atright angles thereto, one of said sides having an opening therethrough,and a second side opposite the first mentioned side having a pluralityof slots lengthwise thereof, a latch lever having projections passingthrough said slots rockingly mounted therein, and having a keeperengaging portion extending through said opening, means on said firstside for retaining and guiding said keeper engaging portion to move in agenerally fixed plane, and spring means acting on said lever normallyrocking it in one direction.

4. Latch structure comprising, a casing having a back side plate, upper,lower, inner and outer sides integral with and located substantially atright angles to and extending in the same direction from said backplate, a latch lever of bell crank form within said casing spaced fromthe back plate, having a generally vertical arm rockingly mounted on theinner side adjacent the lower end of said arm, and a generallyhorizontal arm extending outwardly from the lower end of said verticalarm and passing through said outer side, said outer side having avertical guiding slot through which said horizontal arm passes, and acoiled compression spring bear- 6 ing at one end against said outer sideof the casing and at its other end against said vertical arm, said outercasing side having a keeper passing opening above said guiding slottherein, connecting therewith.

5. Structure having the elements in combination defined in claim 4, anda trigger member having a cylindrical sleeve adjacent its upper endintegral therewith passing through said back plate rotatably connectingthe trigger member with said plate, said trigger member being betweensaid latch lever and back plate, means at the free end of the triggermember, and cooperating means on said horizontal arm for holding thelatch lever away from normal spring actuated position and against theforce of the spring acting thereon.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,528,864 Curtiss Nov. 7, 1950 2,622,910 Jacobson Dec. 23, 19522,634,151 Russell et al. Apr. 7, 1953 2,692,789 Rivard Oct. 26, 1954

